Big Buts of the Bible

Advent Buts

Emily Elliott penned this classic Christmas hymn for children, specifically intended to teach them about Jesus Christ's birth. She constructed each verse of the song around contrasts--four wonderful uses of the word but and a final verse around but's close cousin, yet. 

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown when Thou camest to earth for me; BUT in Bethlehem's home there was found no room for Thy holy nativity.

Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang, proclaiming Thy royal decree; BUT of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth and in great humility.

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest, in the shade of the forest tree; BUT Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God, in the deserts of Galilee.

Thou camest O Lord, with the living Word, that should set Thy people free; BUT with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn, they bore Thee to Calvary.

Each verse of this marvelous song is responded to in refrain: O come to my heart, Lord Jesus--there is room in my heart for Thee. 

Then comes the final verse. Look how marvelously the story turns:

When the heav'ns shall ring and the angels sing, at Thy coming in victory; Let Thy voice call me home, saying, "YET there is room--there is room at My side for thee."

May this song speak to your soul this Advent Season. Merry Christmas!

 

God Moves In A Mysterious Way

Sometimes it takes a poet to capture the harsh realities of our experience and cast them in bigger-picture hues. William Cowper was such a poet. One of the 18th century's most popular poets, his personal life included very dark chapters and passages. His mother died when he was three. As a child he was bullied in school. His father forbid him to marry the girl with whom he fell in love. Three times he attempted to take his own life. He spent a year in an insane asylum. Mental and emotional instability plagued him throughout his life.

His most famous poem was entitled Light Shining Out Of Darkness. It's first line: God Moves in a Mysterious Way. For years it's been a favorite hymn of the church by that name.

Check out two big buts within its lyric, one each from verses 4 and 5:

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, BUT trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, BUT sweet will be the flower.

Both of these verses, aided by these conjunctions, call our eyes beyond the overwhelming experience of difficulty to the hope and promise of God's goodness--God's perfect plan. Be encouraged. He does, indeed, move in a mysterious way!

The Strife Is O'er

This great old hymn of the faith follows a pattern worthy of consideration. Each of its five verses flow with words of (1) deliverance, (2) assurance, and (3) response. Look for it in these lyrics from verse one:

The strife is o'er, the battle done;The victory of life is won; The song of triumph has begun--Alleluia!

Of course, it's one of my favorites for an appearance of a big but in verse two:

The pow'rs of death have done their worst; BUT Christ their legions hath dispersed; Let shouts of holy joy outburst--Alleluia!

Don't miss words like shouts and outburst. This isn't a hymn to be sung under your breath. It is to be sung with exuberance! Loudly! I remember this hymn from when I was very young in church. With each verse, the organist pulled more stops and got more bass pedals going. By the time we got to the final stanza the building was literally shaking:

Lord, by the stripes that wounded Thee; From death's dread sting Thy servants free; That we may live and sing to Thee--Alleluia!

Look this old hymn up. Deliverance. Assurance. Response. What a blessing. And if done correctly--loud, too!

But Makes Thy Glories Known

Isaac Watts is credited with having written somewhere near 1000 hymns for the church to sing.  He was rather controversial in his day--he dared to depart from the strick singing of scripture that stemmed from the teachings of John Calvin.  Are you ready for this?  Watts is believed to be the first worship song composer who created "original songs of Christian experience."

One of my favorite Watts songs is I Sing The Mighty Power of God.  It was initially composed as a children's song, although it grew to become a favorite of adults, utilized often in worship services and liturgies.  The lyrics paint pictures of God's creation, providence, and care--the third and final verse contains a great but--to the end that all of these things speak of God. 

There's not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known;

And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne;

While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care,

And everywhere that man can be, Thou, God are present there.

Learn more about Isaac Watts and his many great hymns here and here.

Pants On The Ground

Simon Cowell was right when he said "I don't think this is the last we'll hear about you" to General Larry Platt.  Video gone viral--the 62 year old songwriter has perfectly articulated what so many people have been thinking for a long time.  You can order your Pants Off The Ground t-shirts on eBay, they tell me. 

While it is true that Big Buts if a blog about buts with one 't', Google Analytics on this site tells me that a handful people find their way here every day using search engines looking for those with two 't's'.  Must be quite a shock to get here and find a Bible Study, eh?

So, in the spirit of giving the public a little more of what they want, here's a brand new hit song, filled with great advice where your butt with two 't's' is concerned.  Enjoy.

A But of Tremendous Importance

Robert Lowry was born in Philadephia in 1826. He was fifty years old, a Baptist preacher and a professor of literature at Bucknell University when he penned the great old hymn Nothing But The Blood.  Talk about buts--the word appears in every other line of the six verse classic. 

From the hymn's opening question (What can wash away my sin?) to the hymn's conclusion (All my praise for this I bring)--the answer in refrain: Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

No doubt Hebrews 9:22 informed Lowry's lyric.  Although but-less, it reads: without the shedding of blood there is no forgivess.  Lowry rehearsed our complete and utter dependence upon the blood of Christ in his hymn.

In more recent times Matt Redman recorded a tune inspired by the old hymn, again building the structure of the song around the all-important truth--man is lost, but for the blood of Jesus.  In Redman's song he begins, Your blood speaks a better word.  It speaks righteousness.  It speaks in our defense.  It testifies of grace.  It makes a way to God for us.  Nothing but the blood does all that.

Here are the lyrics to Lowry's hymn.  May they be a blessing to you as you consider them.

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

(Refrain sung afer every verse)

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

But Thou Art Mighty

Happy New Year!

As we stand facing a brand new year, wouldn't it be cool to know what 2010 holds in store for you? 

But of course, you can't know.  Like turning the pages of any good story, tomorrow has to be lived to be discovered.  The future is revealed a day at a time; a step at a time.

In the 1730s, a Welsh college student was preparing for a career in medicine.  One Sunday morning he heard a man preaching the gospel on a street corner.  The young student came to faith in Christ that morning and his life was radically changed.

For the next forty-plus years William Williams preached, taught, wrote and sang of God's love throughout his homeland.  A biographer said of his ministry, "Williams sang all of Wales into piety."  He is referred to as the catalyst of the Welsh Methodist Revival. 

His life's plan collided with a big but--but God.  The lyrics to the first verse of one of his most popular works, the hymn Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, reads like this:

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah; pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but Thou are mighty; hold me with Thy powerful hand;

Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven; feed me till I want no more. Feed me till I want no more.

Welcome to the New Year. We cannot know tomorrow with great certainty--but we know the One who holds all of our tomorrows with great certainty.  May the big but of Williams' confession "I am weak, but Thou art mighty" be a comfort to your soul.

O Little Town Of Bethlehem

Check out the 'But-o-the-week' in the left hand panel of this page. That verse in Matthew 2 quotes an old prophecy concerning the birthplace of the promised Savior.  That prophecy in its original setting is a ray of light and hope set amidst a sea of promised judgment.  Give Micah 5 a read.

In 1865, an American preacher by the name of Phillips Brooks visited Bethlehem and was particularly moved by a visit to the Church of the Nativity.  When he returned home he wanted to write a Christmas song for children based on his experience of Bethlehem.  You know it today as the hymn O Little Town of Bethlehem.  In addition to telling a wonderful part of the birth story, the song contains a big but--one that speaks of the good news that is great joy--one that points clearly to the gift of Christmas, Jesus Christ!

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is giv'n!  So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heav'n.  No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, where meeks souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

Where meek souls will... the dear Christ enters in.  Merry Christmas!

But Consider

A man who knew the gift of God's forgiveness firsthand wrote his own epitaph. It reads:

"John Newton: Clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned and appointed to preach the faith he had so long labored to destroy."

Those words stand today as a final resting place testimony to a life forever changed. 

Of course, a much more well-known testimony exists in Newton's most popular work, the lyrics to the hymn Amazing Grace. Notice the summary built around these two big buts:

I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.

As we've sung the song for generations, we've concluded with a verse that was not part of Newton's original.  "When we've been there ten thousand years..." was added later. In most hymnals it actually replaced the final verse that Newton had penned.

The earth shall soon disolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine; But God who called me here below, shall be forever mine.

Sometimes big buts provide great thought and contemplation provocation.

But now. But God. But what about you?